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Tale of Survival: Yori's Doubt
This article, , is the second chapter of the Meian's Legacy mini-arc, which is part of Bleach: Cataclysm. It follows Yori Hisagi as the POV character, with Garian Shinjo as support. ---- Yori recalled a long walk, blood dripping from his numerous wounds, and a mocking sound carried on the wind along with the scent of fire and burning. He didn't remember how long he wandered or how far but by the time his body gave out and he collapsed he was numb with the cold. Or maybe it was the snow numbing him, and not his loss of blood? There was a cheer thought. Either he was slowly freezing to death or he was bleeding out. He chuckled. He immediately wished he hadn't because pain erupted in his sides, and darkness engulfed him. But before darkness took him at last he saw a hulking figure, as large as any mountain with a great lions main of white hair, approach him. He was as wrinkled as an old prune with ancient eyes and a strong hand, for the last thing Yori recalled before his senses left him completely and he lost conciousness, was being hoisted onto the big man's shoulder... His dreams where unpleasant reminders of pain, death and failure. He saw Naoko crouched upon the ground, all hope gone from her face, as he tried in vein to attract her attention. He saw his mentor, Meian, floating as he wordlessly cast the spell that saved their lives. But before safety was found within that golden light Yori glimpsed the columns of flames, the buildings swallowed by the rolling earth, and the people incinerated by strikes of lightning. The half of Meian's room in which he had been violently thrown was engulfed in a plume of flames briefly, burning, before the building winked out. And before he woke with a startled cry he saw his mentor engulfed in a similar plume of smoke, his smile the last to fade... “You finally wake, boy.” “It had to be a dream!” Yori cried. “No amount of death and destruction could be anything else.” “There's an easy way to see if this is a dream or not.” the big man said, causing Yori to look up at him. “Go outside and take a piss. If you're wet and warm afterwards then wake up. If nothing happens though all you'll have done is pissed yourself... but you'll have your answer.” “That's a lovely thought.” Yori replied. “So it was real then. Horiwari is gone.” “More than Horiwari, lad. I'm afraid it was all the realms that felt the sting of the Collapse.” Yori looked at the big man for the first time without glazed eyes. He was as big as he thought upon seeing him earlier, in his delirium. He had big, powerful arms as thick as tree trunks, with a wise wrinkled face, ancient grey eyes that weren't without sympathy, and long bushy sideburns. His hair, stubble, and sideburns gave the impression of a proud and majestic lion, whilst the low-burning fire cast a yellowish light around his shoulders. “You're Garian Shinjo!” Yori exclaimed, only now realizing he had been saved by a bloody legend! One of the fabled Seijin. And not just any old Seijin but the Seijin. The man known as Garian, known throughout Soul Society for his creation of Kido and the establishment of the 4th Division, sat before him nursing his wounds. “I'm not worthy!” “Oh, for Pete's sake!” Garian exclaimed, striking the younger man upside his head. “The last thing I need nowadays is a fawning fan. Now I'm simply an old, old man, and have no patience for such things.” “But- But you're one of the Seijin. It would not be proper!” “Tell me, boy, what would be less proper? Disrespecting me in my own home by fawning after me when I clearly tell you not to, or continue in blind ignorance, throwing a title as old as time about with no knowledge of what it means? You tell me.” “... Forgive me.” “Bog's through there.” Garian said, pointing to a door off the main hall. “Bog?” Yori asked, confused. “Yeah, you know, the shitter, crapper, or whatever else you call it.” He said, grinning. “I keep a clean home. These are the rules: Rule #1. You will do as I say. Rule #2. You will obey the rules. If you don't like it there's the front door. You can freeze outside.” “I'll try to remember that sir.” And so Yori recovered in the home of his oldest idol and role model, silently haunted by the knowledge that Naoko was probably dead. The history lessons taught within the Shino Academy still covered much, even if the curriculum had been simplified in years past. He ate three meals a day and did the dishes afterwards, followed by gathering firewood to feed Garian's hungry fire, happy that the activity did a little to clear his mind. And everyday that passed Yori felt his strength return. His wounds had been healed in no time at all Garian had revealed, but the legendary Seijin had remarked that his strength would return in time and how it would be better for him that way. So Yori worked and toiled until his strength was again his own and in the evening he heard of what Garian had called the Collapse. “From what Kentaro and I can gather, someone has managed to ram the spiritual realms together. The catastrophic events you describe, boy, were the throwback of that collision. The resultant realm – the Reikai – is still now, but something stirs in the darkness, terrible and filled with a terrible want for destruction. I felt it, Kentaro felt it, and we agreed something had to be done. He gathered the survivors from Horiwari and organized them. He could use your help.” “Wait, you said there where survivors!” Yori exclaimed, forgetting all-else. “What of Naoko!? Meian sent us both away but I was alone. If she's alive I have to find her!” “... Meian saved you?” Garian asked, resulting in a long exhale. “That means he is likely dead too. He was the strongest of the Shiba clan for generations. He will be sorely missed in this time of hardship. But yes, there where survivors, and if he sent you here along with another, your best bet is Grat, at the base of the mountain.” “He said he could have stopped it had he not cast aside his inner darkness... but I don't know what he meant.” “It would have killed him, but yes, he could have stopped it. Now I know why he didn't – no, couldn't – but I'm afraid I cannot reveal why.” Garian rose and began pacing. “But enough of this. It is time for you to leave. Whether you throw your lot in with Kentaro or Ryan, know that only Kentaro has a chance of uniting the Reikai. Ryan is a puppet to one infinitely his greater in all things, who has cunningly deceived even me.” Garian said no more and Yori found himself marshalled from the heat out into the cold without so much as a backwards glance from the old Seijin. He squared his shoulders as he set out for Grat. “I'm coming Naoko.”